Palestine Burns While the Rest of the World Watches Soccer

A law fellow with Palestine Works recounts her experiences in the occupied West Bank as Israel’s occupation and aggression intensify.

Graffiti of Palestinians throwing stones juxtaposed against real-life Israeli soldiers illustrates the true nature of this asymmetric war.

by Kulsoom Khalid Ijaz

On June 12, 2014, three Israeli teenagers, Gil-ad Shaer, Naftali Fraenkel and Eyal Yifrach, went missing while hitchhiking in the Etzion Bloc south of Jerusalem, in the West Bank. On June 30, 2014, their bodies were found in a field in Halhoul village in the Hebron District. No one has come forward to take responsibility for their disappearance. Nevertheless, the Israeli government has used the event as a pretext to raid several cities in the West Bank. By the admission of Israeli officials, many of these raids were not operationally related to the search for the missing teenagers. In fact, even before the bodies were discovered, the government conducted these West Bank incursions knowing the teenagers were already dead.